Hotel Excelsior

Do not be fooled by the grand name. The most unwelcoming, unfriendly staff I have ever met. It is managed by a husband and wife team, both as miserable as each other especially the wife. There is no ramp in case you have a large suitcase. You must carry it up 5 stairs, not a lot of stairs but it might be difficult for elderly people. The lift was tiny and very old fashioned. Need a lot of strength to open the door. Upon arriving, the lady at the reception desk was very unfriendly towards us. She did not bother telling us about the weekend Locarno card, which entitles us to free transport on the buses and offers discounts for excursions and boat trips. When we settled into our room, we came downstairs and her husband was at the front desk. We asked him about the weekend card and he helped us register for it so we could get the QR code on our phones. The minibar in the room was completely empty and no information given to us as to what needs to be done if we need a drink, bearing in mind we were in a heatwave day. No air conditioning in room. Very old bathroom. The toilet in the bathroom is very low. The bidet is very old fashioned and does not have a tap which sprouts water. You have to fill up the bidet. The shower curtain was awful. When arriving in the breakfast room, we could not find the hot milk. We asked the husband if we could have hot milk. His response was can’t you see! We were shocked at his reply. When we said no we cannot see it, he then stamped towards the coffee machine and pointed at a button which said hot milk. He then stamped away. The croissants were old & stale and the bread was not fresh either. We were told that we had to be back by 21:00 at the hotel or ensure we had our key as the doors would be locked. We forgot our key the first night. In all fairness, they called us and said we had forgotten our key. We apologized and asked if they could leave the key near the big plant pot so we could let yourselves in. They refused and said if you don’t come in the next 30 minutes to collect the key, they will not allow us to enter the hotel. We were in the middle of a meal at the Piazza Grande, in the centre of town, not far from the hotel. I left my meal and ran to the hotel to pick up the key. Came back to the restaurant and finished my meal which was cold by this time. This is not a Hotel but rather a B&B.